C H A P E L C O M M U N I Q U E

Transcription

1 C H A P E L C O M M U N I Q U E July 2017 July Memory Verse: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act. Psalm 37: 4-5 Marrable Hill Chapel 110 Chapel Avenue, El Dorado, AR Phone mhchapel@suddenlinkmail.com Birthdays July 2017 To protect from identity theft, birthdays are not listed in the on-line version of the Chapel Communique. Thank you for understanding! Golden Heirs will meet Friday, July 14th, at 6:30 pm for their monthly Pot Luck Supper. There will be lots of good food and fellowship so bring your favorite potluck dish and join them! If you need a ride, please call the office by Thursday. July 9 th - 13 th 6-8:15 pm Vacation Bible School MAKER FUN FACTORY Created by God - Built for a Purpose July 16th - Aug. 27th 6 pm Growth Group The Lord s Prayer by Robert Morris Fellowship Hall 2

2 Kids in Action Several weeks ago Children's Church kids packed bags for the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. CASA distributes the bags to children that sit in court with a Court Advocate while their family is in court proceedings. The kids pack bags with MHC children s bulletins, writing and coloring supplies, activity booklets, snacks, and a bottle of water. A group of Marrable Hill Chapel kids delivered the bags on June 28th. Thank you to all the kids that helped pack the bags and those that helped deliver them kids who love Jesus being doers of the Word. Pictured from left to right: Laverne (CASA employee), Kelsi, Avery, Krista, Lacey (CASA employee), and Andrew 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6: Operation Christmas Child (OCC) It won t be long before we will be packing OCC boxes to send to children throughout the world. Keep an eye out for sales on items that can be sent in OCC boxes. These boxes are showing children and their families that God loves and cares about them. OCC s website ( -child/shoebox-stories-index/) has stories about how these boxes have changed the lives of the recipients and their families. Below is one of the articles. Azima and A Handwritten Note In times of sorrow and grief when I needed to be reminded of God s love, I would clutch my shoebox close to my heart and pray. These words have been life-changing to me: I might not know you, but always know that Jesus loves you and so do I. A 12-year-old girl from America wrote that sentence on a note inside the shoebox gift I received at age 14 in Cameroon, a country where West Africa and Central Africa intersect. I prayed to God that night it was one of my first times talking to God to thank Him for my gift. That night, I also asked Jesus into my heart, based on the note and what I had heard during the shoebox distribution. The words the girl had written helped me to believe that Jesus loves me and nothing can change that. The only verse I knew at the time, John 3:16, came alive to me: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. In times of sorrow and grief when I needed to be reminded of God s love, I would clutch my shoebox close to my heart and pray. (See OCC, Page 8) 4

3 Getting to Know You James Ghormley James Ghormley is a retired caseworker for the Arkansas Department of Human Resources. He worked 29 years. He has a 34 year-old son, Andrew Ghormley, that lives in Texas. James has been associated with our church for 36 years. In 1981, he started attending MHC when a friend of his that knew Bro. Sam Shepperson invited him to come to church. While listening to Bro. Sam s sermon on July 7th, 1984, he realized that he was lost and needed a Savior. At 42 years old, he asked Jesus to forgive and save him. His life was forever changed on that day. James is a deacon at Marrable Hill Chapel (MHC). He also volunteers as a leader of 3rd grade boys in AWANAs and is a worker at Victory Bible Camp (VBC). He loves working at VBC, attending Family Weekend at VBC, and watching TV. Bible Trivia Which of these people are not in the New Testament? Lazarus Paul John Isaac Adam Timothy Caiaphas Bartholomew Peter Matthew Mark Philip Joseph of Arimathea Herod Daniel Noah Eve James Judas Simon Martha Abel Zacharias Ananias Anna Mary Thomas Moses Mary Magdaline Jezebel Elisha Agrippa Meshach Elizabeth Matthias Barnabas (For answers, see TRIVIA on page 9) 5 Central Baptist Evadale Mission Trip During the last week of June, Tony Moye, former MHC Youth Pastor, and a group of kids, teens, and adults from his current c h u r c h, C e n t r a l Baptist Evadale, were at MHC on a mission trip. It was great to see the Moye family again! Their kids are growing up, but Tony & Kim didn't look like they aged - how does that work? MHC was so blessed to meet & spend time with their youth group. They worked really hard with outreach to neighborhood, crafts, child care in the nursery, painted/tore out carpet in the Awana classes, hung clothes at Clothes Closet, worked at the Salvation Army, sports camp, family fun nights, and block parties. I'm exhausted just listing them. These are some of kids who attended the sports camp: (from left to right) Chloe, H a y d e n, K e l s i, Andrew, Avery, & Krista. They all agreed they loved sports camp and the people from Central Baptist! Thanks Central Baptist you are a blessing!! 6

4 Victory Bible Camp Teen Week A great summer of Victory Bible Camp has come and gone. Since getting back from camp, I have been reflecting on what I experienced and witnessed. What was my favorite? Wow! I m not sure that I can pick my favorite. There were awesome games such as the Amazing Race. If I could run, I would have joined in. However, it was still exciting seeing the teens run up for a clue, gasping for air, while the counselors bent down with hands on knees trying not to hyperventilate. The additional difficulty was naming the books of the Bible while being out of breath! The skits were all awesome! It was hard to pick a favorite. The skits alone are worth the drive to camp. Could it be that the food is the best thing? It is always one of the best things about camp! If you haven t eaten camp food, you don t know what you are missing! Thank you ladies for the awesome food! Homer Allison was the speaker for the week -- breaking down the Word of God. He covered a lot of scriptures, but probably my favorite was James 2:14-26, faith without works. When Homer finished speaking the teens would go find their spot to read, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the scriptures meaning. This was my favorite thing looking across the camp and seeing young people reading His Word and then gathering with their group to discuss it. (See VBC, on Page 9) 7 OCC (Cont. From Page 4) The same month I received my shoebox, one of my closest friends died of malaria. That night, I went through my shoebox over and over again, looking at the items and seeking comfort. Eventually, I fell asleep with the shoebox in my arms. That happened a lot. My siblings and I did not have an opportunity to go to church because my father was against that. In Cameroon, religious superstitions heavily influence people s lives. My father was concerned that bad things would happen to our family if we went against the local traditional beliefs. My aunt, a Christian, moved in with us when I was 9, five years before I received my shoebox. She would always tell us stories about Jesus. When I was 14, she snuck me and my three sisters out of the house and took us to church. The more we knew about Jesus, the more we wanted to know. I realized that the stories my aunt had told us about Jesus were true. After that, my sisters and I routinely snuck out of the house to attend church services. It was at that church that I received my shoebox gift. I hid the gift from my father, fearing that I would be punished for having it because I had gotten it at church. Nevertheless, I was thrilled The more we knew about Jesus the more we wanted to know. The stories my aunt had told us about Jesus were true. to receive the gift. I had never received any gifts in my life, and I had never before seen many of the items, such as a teddy bear and a diary that had a little lock and key. I kept the handwritten note locked in my diary and looked at it often. Two years after receiving my shoebox, I dedicated myself to teaching the children in my church how much Jesus loves them. That year I also saw my father come to know the Lord. It started when he caught my sisters and me secretly praying for his salvation. (See OCC, Page 9) 8 I went through my shoebox seeking comfort. I fell asleep with the shoebox in my arms. That happened a lot.

5 OCC (Cont. From Page 8) He demanded to know, What is it about this God? No matter how much I stop you all from going to church, you just keep believing. You just keep serving Him. You just keep going to church. My aunt kept sharing with him about the love of God. He went from actively opposing us going to church to saying nothing about it. A long time later, he called us together. I thought we would get in trouble for having gone to church again, but, standing in front of a Bible, he asked us to pray. When we prayed, that s when I knew that, truly, God had reached him. I want to say thank you to everyone who is part of Operation Christmas Child God is using you mightily to reach out to not just a child but to an entire family like mine. The power of one shoebox is that God used it to change our lives. I want to give other children that gift. When I pack shoeboxes, I make sure to include a note in each one that tells the child that I love you so much, and Jesus loves you so much more. TRIVIA (Cont. from Page 5) VBC (Continued, Page 7) Jason Luker leads some awesome youth & young adults! Let's be sure to pray for them at least daily for the Lord to guide and direct their paths. Another great camp season is on the books! God is using you to reach an entire family. The power of one shoebox is that God used it to change our lives. Answer: Abel, Adam, Daniel, Elisha, Eve, Isaac, Jezebel, Meshach, Moses, Noah Uganda Short-term Mission Trip Hannah Cheshier Oliver s story: At the women s conference on Tuesday, I met a Ugandan lady named Oliver. She was sitting at the same table as me and two other women at lunch. She didn t say a whole lot, but when we were finishing up, she briefly mentioned that she had been through a divorce and she was left with her two kids and had no job. She didn t have a lot of time to expound, but I told her that I was so sorry and mentioned to her that I had been through a similar situation and would love to hear more of her story if there was time later. The conference was packed and we didn t have a lot of down time, but supper was running late when we finished up the training and Oliver came to me and asked if I still wanted to talk. I told her I would love that and would love to hear how she dealt with the situation and what the Lord had taught her. As she began sharing her story, tears just flowed down my face as I realized in that moment that this was the main reason I was on the mission trip. Oliver shared so many things that were similar to what I had gone through and she shared how the Lord helped her through it. She said it had been four years since it happened and I shared that it was almost two years for me. She told me it would get easier as time went on and to just keep trusting the Lord. When she finished I shared a little of my story and then she asked if she could pray for me. Later in the week, we were at a school where she is a teacher and she pulled me to the side and gave me a picture of her and her two kids (this was a big deal because she doesn t have a lot of money to even have pictures developed but she shared one with me). She said when you see that big smile on my face, remember what we talked about and that God will bring you through. I was so very touched by her life. Thank you again for being a part of all that God did and is doing in Uganda, Africa. God bless y all! 9 10